Computer Network Design
Abdul Moid Khan
Introduction
What is a Network?
What is “Network Design”?
Top-Down Network Design
Network Development Life Cycle (NDLC)
Network Analysis and Design Methodology
Types of Network Design
And Then What?
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What is a Network?
Management view
Technical view
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The Management View (1/3)
A network is a utility
Computers and their users are customers of the network
utility
The network must accommodate the needs of
customers
As computer usage increases so does the requirements of
the network utility
Resources will be used to manage the network
The Network Utility is NOT free!
Someone must pay the cost of installing and maintaining
the network
Manpower is required to support the network utility
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The Management View (2/3)
Utilities don’t bring money into the organization
Expense item to the Corporation
Cannot justify Network based on “Productivity
Improvements”
As a network designer, you need to explain to
management how the network design, even with the
high expense, can save money or improve the
company’s business
If users cannot log on to your commerce site, they will try
your competitor, and you have lost sales
If you cannot get the information your customers are
asking about due to a network that is down, they may go
to your competitor
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The Management View (3/3)
You need to understand how the network assists the
company in making money and play on that strength
when you are developing the network design proposal
Try to show a direct correlation between the network
design project and the company’s business
“Because you want a faster network” is not good enough,
the question that management sends back is WHY DO I
NEED A FASTER ONE?
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The Technical View (1/2)
A “Network” really can be thought of as three parts and they
all need to be considered when working on a network design
project:
Connections
Communications/Protocols
Services
Connections
Provided by Hardware that ties things together
Wire/Fiber/Wireless Transport Mechanisms
Routers
Switches/Hubs
Computers
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The Technical View (2/2)
Communications/Protocols
Provided by Software
A common language for 2 systems to communicate with each other
TCP/IP (Internet/Windows NT)
IPX / SPX (Novell Netware 4)
AppleTalk
Other Network OS
Services
The Heart of Networking
Cooperation between 2 or more systems to perform some function -
Applications
telnet
FTP
HTTP
SMTP
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Traditional Network Design
Based on a set of general rules
“80/20”
“Bridge when you can, route when you must”
Can’t deal with scalability & complexity
Focused on capacity planning
Throw more bandwidth at the problem
No consideration to delay optimization
No guarantee of service quality
Less importance given to network RMA (Reliability,
Maintainability, and Availability) compared to throughput
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Application Characteristics
Applications Message Message Delay need Reliability
Length arrival rate need
Interactive Short Low Moderate Very high
terminals
File transfer Very long Very low Very low Very high
Hi-resolution Very long Low to High Low
graphics moderate
Packetized Very short Very high High Low
voice
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Application Bandwidths
Transaction
100 Bytes Few Kbps
Processing
Word Processing 100s Kbps Few Mbps
File Transfers Few Mbps 10s Mbps
Real-Time Imaging 10s Mbps 100s Mbps
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A Look on Multimedia Networking
Video standard Bandwidth per WAN services
user
Digital video 1.2 Mbps DS1 lines ISDN
interactive H11, Frame
Relay, ATM
Motion JPEG 10 to 240 Mbps ATM 155 or 622
Mbps
MPEG-1 1.5 Mbps DS1 lines ISDN
H11, Frame
Relay, ATM
MPEG-2 4~6 Mbps DS2, DS3, ATM
at DS3 rate
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Some Networking Issues
LAN, MAN and WAN
Switching and routing
Technologies: Ethernet, FDDI, ATM …
Wireless/Mobile networking
Internetworking
Applications
Service quality
Security concerns
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Generations of Networking
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Network Design: Achievable?
Response Time Cost
Reliability Business Growth
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Where to begin?
WWW Traffic
Addressing
Access Patterns
Campus Users Dial in
Users
Network
Security WAN Management
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Traditional Network Design Methodology
Many network design tools and methodologies in use
today resemble the “connect-the-dots” game
These tools let you place internetworking devices on
a palette and connect them with LAN or WAN media
Problem with this methodology:
It skips the steps of analyzing a customer's
requirements, and selecting devices and media based
on those requirements
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Top-Down Network Design Methodology (1/2)
Good network design
Recognizes that a customer’s requirements embody
many business and technical goals
May specify a required level of network performance,
i.e., service level
Includes difficult network design choices and tradeoffs
that must be made when designing the logical network
before any physical devices or media are selected
When a customer expects a quick response to a
network design request
A bottom-up (connect-the-dots) network design
methodology can be used, if the customer’s
applications and goals are well known
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Top-Down Network Design Methodology (2/2)
Network designers often think they understand a
customer’s applications and requirements.
However, after the network installation, they may
discover that:
They did not capture the customer's most important
needs
Unexpected scalability and performance problems
appear as the number of network users increases
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Top-Down Network Design Process (1/2)
Begins at the upper layers of the OSI reference
model before moving to the lower layers
Focuses on applications, sessions, and data transport
before the selection of routers, switches, and media
that operate at the lower layers
Explores divisional structures to find the people:
For whom the network will provide services, and
From whom to get valuable information to make the
design succeed
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Top-Down Network Design Process (2/2)
It is an iterative process:
It is important to first get an overall view of a
customer's requirements
More detail can be gathered later on protocol behavior,
scalability requirements, technology preferences, etc.
Recognizes that the logical model and the physical
design may change as more information is gathered
A top-down approach lets a network designer get
“the big picture” first and then spiral downward into
detailed technical requirements and specifications
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Structured Network Design Process
- A Systems Approach (1/2) -
The system is designed in a top-down sequence
Several techniques and models can be used to
characterize the existing system, new user
requirements, and a structure for the future system
A focus is placed on understanding:
Data flow, data types, and processes that access or
change the data
The location and needs of user communities that
access or change data and processes
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Structured Network Design Process
- A Systems Approach (2/2) -
A logical model is developed before the physical
model
The logical model represents the basic building blocks,
divided by function, and the structure of the system
The physical model represents devices and specific
technologies and implementations
For large network design projects, modularity is
essential
The design should be split functionally to make the
project more manageable
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Network Development Life Cycle
Analysis
Management Design
Simulation/
Prototyping
Monitoring
Implementation
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Network Design and Implementation Cycle
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Network Design and Implementation Cycle (1/3)
Analyze requirements:
Interviews with users and technical personnel
Understand business and technical goals for a
new or enhanced system
Characterize the existing network: logical and
physical topology, and network performance
Analyze current and future network traffic,
including traffic flow and load, protocol
behavior, and QoS requirements
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Network Design and Implementation Cycle (2/3)
Develop the logical design:
Deals with a logical topology for the new or
enhanced network
Network layer addressing and naming
Switching and routing protocols
Security planning
Network management design
Initial investigation into which service
providers can meet WAN and remote access
requirements
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Network Design and Implementation Cycle (3/3)
Develop the physical design:
Specific technologies and products to realize the
logical design are selected
The investigation into service providers must be
completed during this phase
Test, optimize, and document the design:
Write and implement a test plan
Build a prototype or pilot
Optimize the network design
Document your work with a network design proposal
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Another Perspective
Data collection
Traffic
Costs
Constraints
Design process
Performance analysis
Fine tuning
A painstaking iterative process
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PDIOO Network Life Cycle (1/3)
(Cisco)
Plan:
Network requirements are identified in this phase
Analysis of areas where the network will be installed
Identification of users who will require network services
Design:
Accomplish the logical and physical design, according
to requirements gathered during the Plan phase
Implement:
Network is built according to the Design specifications
Implementation also serves to verify the design
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PDIOO Network Life Cycle (2/3)
(Cisco)
Operate:
Operation is the final test of the effectiveness of the design
The network is monitored during this phase for performance
problems and any faults, to provide input into the Optimize
phase
Optimize:
Based on proactive network management which identifies
and resolves problems before network disruptions arise
The optimize phase may lead to a network redesign
if too many problems arise due to design errors, or
as network performance degrades over time as actual
use and capabilities diverge
Redesign may also be required when requirements change
significantly
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PDIOO Network Life Cycle (3/3)
(Cisco)
Retire:
When the network, or a part of the network, is out-of-date, it
may be taken out of production
Although Retire is not incorporated into the name of the life
cycle (PDIOO), it is nonetheless an important phase
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One More Look
Business Network Implement Operations
Planning Design Network
Develop Operations
Define Objectives Develop Create
Policies and
and Requirements Architecture Implementation Plan
Capabilities
Create Initial Develop Detailed Procure Resources Fault
Solution Design and Facilities Management
Define Deployment Create Build Configuration
Stage and Install
Strategy Documentation Management
Review and Review and Verify Certify and Hand-off Change
Approve Design to Operations Management
Performance
Management
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Information Flows between Network
Analysis, Architecture, and Design
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